GROUPS

By The YEARS Project

Get involved with these environmental advocacy groups and collective actions, all fighting to stop climate change.

Join the #PutAPriceOnIt campaign. YEARS of LIVING DANGEROUSLY is partnering with a team of young, passionate climate activists to put a price on carbon. Join us by visiting TheClimateSolution.com to learn more.

Fight to close coal plants and stop their dangerous emissions with the Sierra Club. Their Beyond Coal campaign mobilizes grassroots activism to replace dirty energy with clean energy. In just a few years they’ve managed to close 178 plants, with many more in the works.

Power Past Coal works to stop companies from shipping 100 million tons of coal each year from exports terminals on the West Coast to places all over Asia. You can join the effort to keep the dirtiest fossil fuel in the ground.Check out PPC’s great take action options locally, nationally, and globally at: http://www.powerpastcoal.org/

Are you a graduate student who wants a job that helps fight climate change? Check out Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps program. It matches students with an eye for sustainability with companies, cities and universities looking to go greener. In Season 1 of YEARS of LIVING DANGEROUSLY, Jessica Alba met with Climate Corps fellows to hear their suggestions for making Honest Company even more sustainable. Watch their story here.Learn how to become a fellow or host a fellow here: http://edfclimatecorps.org/

Join the Climate Reality Leadership Corps. Trained by Al Gore and equipped with an updated version of his iconic climate change slideshow featured in An Inconvenient Truth, nearly 6,000 lecturers deliver presentations around the world. It’s a great way to help build the critical mass needed to tackle global climate change. Apply to be a corps member here or see how else you can help!

Greenpeace is one of the most successful direct action groups out there, from occupying oil drilling ships to protesting palm plantations in Indonesia. Greenpeace fights for environmental justice all over the world with headline-worthy campaigns. After being targeted by Greenpeace, Sinar Mas and Unilever – two major players in the palm oil market – announced they’d become more sustainable. In season 1, Harrison Ford traveled to Indonesia to meet with Greenpeace activists and other forest experts to learn about how palm oil is driving forest loss and climate change. Watch their story here. Get involved with Greenpeace here!

Your vote and your voice matter. Use them to support candidates with strong views on combating climate change. Check the League of Conservation Voters’ environmental scorecard page to see if your representatives in Congress get passing grades when it comes to climate change. If your government officials aren’t doing enough to stop climate change, let them know to shape up or they won’t get your vote. Take our pledge to vote, and get handy reminders about all the elections in your area.

The Union of Concerned Scientists is tackling climate change on many different fronts, from demanding the old industry cut dangerous emissions to helping coastal communities prepare for climate change. Click through to see how you can help, too.

Who in Congress stills denies that climate change is real, human caused, and dangerous? Organizing For Action identifies the climate deniers state-by-state. And then you can “Call Them Out.”

Demand stronger regulations from the EPA with the National Resources Defense Council. Limiting carbon pollution, protecting our water and saving endangered species are just three of their take action campaigns.

Did you know that about 40 percent of food produced in the U.S. is thrown away? All this wasted food produces more greenhouse gases than is emitted by every country except the U.S. or China, so don’t throw it away. Get involved in a food collection or distribution program. Below is a list of organizations that are working to prevent both food waste and hunger. Food Recovery Network is the largest student movement against food waste and hunger in America. They have over 190 local chapters around the country. City Harvest in New York City fights hunger and waste by collecting 46 billion pounds of excess foods and donating to the hungry. Philabundance is the Delaware Valley’s largest food recovery program is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. In 2013 they collected and distributed 30 million pounds, helping 72,000 people a week.

Join a tree planting initiative. Every tree you plant will soak up carbon dioxide and cool the area by providing shade.

Get your school, company or faith group to divest from fossil fuels. Many schools and communities are already doing it. In May 2014, Stanford University announced they will divest their $18.7 billion endowment. At the time it was the largest divestment commitment to date. The World Council of Churches, which represents more than half a billion Christians worldwide, announced in July they’ll no longer invest in fossil fuels. The reason? They said the investments weren’t ethical. You can see a full list of institutions that have committed to divestment here. Check out GoFossilFree.org for the latest campaigns, updates and educational resources.

Buy food grown locally. Locally-grown food requires less transportation (and therefore less carbon pollution) to bring to market. Both farmers and consumers win in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. Local Harvest has lots of great information about CSA programs and can help you find one in your area.

Start or participate in a local “Solarize” initiatives, which started in Portland in 2009 and spread rapidly across the U.S. They’re grassroots efforts that make going solar more affordable through collective purchasing with your neighbors.